Average College Professor Salary (2024 Update)

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54% of Professors in the United States have an opinion that the salaries they receive are enough for the cost of living in their area. The college professors are paid more than the teachers and the other educational staff. So, how much do college professors earn, and what’s the average college professor salary?

In the following article, I have stated details about the average salary earned by college professors in different fields and sectors. I have also included details like the average salary earned by the professors in different states, cities, institutes, and companies.

How Much Do College Professors Earn?

On average,  indeed.com reported that college professors earned $97,050 annually. It is summed up to $38.48 per hour. 

The college professors in law colleges reported that they receive the highest salary as compared to other fields of study. The average salary received by them is $183,581. (salary.com)

Furthermore, the highest salary is received by college professors in the city of California, and the lowest average salary received is in the state of Hawaii.

Some Important Stats Related to College Professors

College Professor Salary - Overview
  1. In the year 2023-2024, it was reported that the salary of full-time professors in the US was calculated to be an average of. $6,871 per month. 
  2. According to Zippa.com, the entry-level salary is noted at around $47,339 yearly.
  3. This number varies. According to Jobted, the average college professor’s salary in the US is around $93,892/year. (2022)
  4. The highest salary that is noted is around $198,965 per year.

Let’s have a look at the average highest and lowest salaries of college professors.

(Source: Indeed)

Lowest salary$47,339
Average Salary$97,050
Highest salary$198,965
  1. The entry-level salary of the professors was reported to be $38.48 per hour.
  2. The top professors, with years of experience and expertise, earned an average salary of $280,000.
  1. According to Zippa.com, the highest-paying company is Oregon Health and Science University.
  1. According to recent data, the average salary of public university professors is $113,738.
  2. Similarly, a professor at a private university had an average salary of $102,553.
  3. The average salary noted for a professor at a public university is around $90,235.
  1. The highest average salary is earned by the professor in the state of California.  The average salary there is reported to be $269,749. 

The following table includes the details about the states that provide the highest salary to college professors:

StateAverage Salary
California$184,725
Utah$179,789
New York$179,258
Connecticut$175,104
District of Columbia$170,189
  1. The college professors in Hawaii reported that they received an annual salary of $106,075. 

In the following table, I have listed the states that pay the lowest salary to college professors. 

StateAverage Salary
Hawaii$106,075
Wisconsin$115,257
Vermont$121,660
Illinois$123,891
Florida$125,167
  1. The colleges that are religiously affiliated pay an average salary of $126,289 to their professors. 
  2. However, the associate professor earned an average of $92,222 in the year 2021-2022. 
  3. The assistant professors in the year 2021-2022 were reported to have an average salary of $79,398.

The below statistics suggest the average professor’s salary by Academic rank. (2022)

Academic RankAverage Salary
Overall Faculty $93,892
Professor $130,262
Associate Professor $92,222
Assistant Professor$79,398
Instructor $72,503
Lecturer$67,454
No Rank$64,825

Let’s have a look at the professor’s salary over the years.

(Source: Indeed. com, NCES)

YearAverage Yearly Salary
2023$97,050
2022$93,892
2021$91,924
2020$90,724
2019$88,698
2018$86,870
  1. The professors who received the 90th percentile during their college years reported getting an annual pay of $280,000. 

The following table indicates the effect of the percentile on the salary of college professors:

PercentileHourly earningAnnual Salary
90th Percentile $135$280,000
75th percentile $102$213,000
25th percentile$56$116,000
10th percentile$42$88,000

Average Professor Salary by Type of Institution

17. The average professor salary for a public four-year college professor is around $90,235 per year.

Let’s have a look at the average professor’s salary by the type of institution. (2022)

Type of InstitutionAverage Professor Salary 
Public Institutions$90,235
Public 4-year institutions$94,354
Public 2-year institutions$74,902
Private institutions$102,553
Private 4-year institutions$102,685
Private 2-year institutions$58,574

Average college professor salary by degree level

18. The doctoral degree holder professors in the US earn the highest salary. 

The below data suggests the average college professor’s salary by degree level.

Degree levelPublic institutionsPrivate institutions
Doctoral degree$137,798$166,471
Master’s degree$98,471$94,871
Other (including bachelor’s)$79,030$101,804
Two-year schools$84,087$77,190

College Professor Salary According to the Subjects

According to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, the highest salary is earned by college professors in the law field. Annually, they earn an average of $183,581. They are followed by professors in the health and humanities field and economics field. 

The following table includes the data issued by Salary.com regarding the fields in which college professors earn the highest. 

Field Average salary of the college professorsHourly Rate
English$99,090 /Year$47.64
Mathematics$109,754/Year$52.77
Architecture$120,007/Year$57.70
Chemistry$110,951/Year$53.34
Economics$127,285/Year$61.19
History $107,277/Year$51.58
Law$183,581/year$88.26
Communication$103,663/year$49.84
Dentistry$144,002/year$69.23
Drama$99,426/year$47.80

Why do professors receive the same salary in spite of the rise in leaving expenses? 

Over the last decade, it was observed that there was a minor increase in the average salary of the professors, in spite of the rise in the cost of lifestyle and other necessities. 

There was only a 2% growth during this time period, and it made it difficult for the professors to sustain and purchase basic needs. 

On the other hand, college tuition has tremendously risen by more than 46%. This has surely enraged the professors and teachers working in the education industry in the US. 

As a consequence, there was a rise in the salaries of college professors in the year 2023-2024. Here, the question arises, “Will the average salaries of college professors decline again due to the expected recession in the upcoming years? ”

How much do college professors earn in different states? 

Let us take a look at the average salary earned by college professors in different states of the US. 

StateHourlyAverage Salary
1. Alabama$77.97$162,175
2. Alaska$71.26$148,230
3. Arizona$70.93$147,541
4. Arkansas$73.27$152,406
5. California$88.81$184,725
6. Colorado$73.81$153,528
7. Connecticut$84.18$175,104
8. Delaware$63.04$131,133
9. District of Columbia$81.82$170,189
10. Florida$60.18$125,167
11. Georgia$65.77$136,806
12. Hawaii$51.00$106,075
13. Idaho$63.66$132,414
14. Illinois$59.56$123,891
15. Indiana$73.07$151,984
16. Iowa$66.19$137,685
17. Kansas$66.49$138,292
18. Kentucky$67.24$139,849
19. Louisiana$71.54$148,799
20. Maine$75.38$156,784
21. Maryland$68.42$142,323
22. Massachusetts$81.30$169,102
23. Michigan$77.54$161,286
24. Minnesota$75.95$157,978
25. Mississippi$76.01$158,105
26. Missouri$65.01$135,213
27. Montana$67.76$140,936
28. Nebraska$69.33$144,196
29. Nevada$74.46$154,883
30. New Hampshire$62.54$130,081
31. New Jersey$67.57$140,543
32. New Mexico$75.60$157,242
33. New York$86.18$179,258
34. North Carolina$74.62$155,201
35. North Dakota$79.93$166,261
36. Ohio$65.46$136,153
37. Oklahoma$77.35$160,897
38. Oregon$76.68$159,500
39. Pennsylvania$71.90$149,559
40. Rhode Island$66.75$138,841
41. South Carolina$63.81$132,732
42. South Dakota$64.36$133,861
43. Tennessee$61.23$127,349
44. Texas$76.39$158,884
45. Utah$86.44$179,789
46. Vermont$58.49$121,660
47. Virginia$63.95$133,009
48. Washington$76.22$158,541
49. West Virginia$65.52$136,285
50. Wisconsin$55.41$115,257
51. Wyoming.$66.65$138,639

Which are the highest-paying cities for professors near the United States?

The highest salary earned by the professors was recorded in the city of San Francisco. The recorded average salary of college professors was $216,671. 

Let us take a look at the cities in the United States that pay the highest to college professors. 

CityHourly rateAverage salary
San Francisco$104.17$216,671
New York$98.01$203,866
New Haven$94.06$195,643
Washington$91.15$189,600
Boston$89.05$185,217
Richardson$86.34$179,582
Ann Arbor$83.78$174,263
Minneapolis$80.69$167,838
Chapel Hill$80.59$167,622
Seattle$80.32$167,064

Which are the top companies for professors in the United States? 

Aiming to pursue your career in the field of education? 

 You surely might be interested to know the details about the companies that offer the highest salary to college professors. 

The following table comprises the details of the companies in the United States that offer the highest salary to college professors. 

Company NameHourly rateAverage salary
Oregon Health & Science University$123.21$256,269
Stanford University$122.63$255,075
Baylor College of Medicine$118.73$246,950
University of Washington$118.44$246,346
Northwell Health$116.98$243,309
University of Massachusetts Medical School$115.44$240,105
University of California$113.66$236,419
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai$110.42$229,664
Massachusetts Institute of Technology$110.10$229,013
UTHealth$108.26$225,190

Which University offers the highest salary to college professors? 

The college professors at the University of Pennsylvania reported that they were paid the highest. They received a payment of $222,186 annually. 

The following table includes the top average salary offered at the top universities in the year 2024.

(Source: indeed.com)

University NameAverage salary of the college professors. 
University of Pennsylvania$ 222,186 per year
University of Maryland University College$ 174,820 per year
University of California Los Angeles$ 167,810 per year
University of Southern California$163,945 per year
University of Pittsburgh$157,896per year
The Ohio State University$154,131per year
Northeastern University$132,271 per year
Drexel University$120,535 per year
The University of Michigan$118,209 per year
Penn State University$112,612per year

The College professors working at the University of California, Los Angeles, received the highest salary among all the public universities. The amount received by them was approximately equal to $225,000 per year. 

The following table indicates the salary earned by the top Public universities in the United States. 

University NameAverage salary of the college professors. 
The University of California, Davis$182,600
the University of Texas at Austin$183,800
University of Virginia$185,100
New Jersey Institute of Technology$187,300
University of California, Irvine$189,200
University of California, San Diego$191,500
Rutgers University at Newark$192,200
University of California, Santa Barbara$200,200
University of California, Berkeley$213,100
University of California, Los Angeles$225,000

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That’s all about the Salary earned by the college professor. 

The salary earned by college professors varies according to the field that they have opted for, the city, the state, and the amount of experience they have. Besides, there are many other factors that can highly impact the monthly and annual salary.

I hope that the above article has helped you to get the required details about college professors’ salaries across the US. By now, you might have got a basic idea about which state you would like to start your career in and in which institution. 

FAQs

Do college professors make a lot of money?

The average salary earned by the professors ranges between $64,000 to $123,000. It is indeed better than the salary earned by the other faculties in the teaching field. In the academic year 2023-2024, the average salary of the college professors recorded was $157,570. 

Do you need to have a PHD to be a professor?

In order to become a professor at the college, you generally need to have a master’s degree. However, if you wish to teach students on higher levels, you will need to have a doctorate degree. Having a PhD makes you eligible to teach at a four-year college or at universities. 

How much do PHD professors make in California?

The full-time professors in California reported that they earned an average of $121,085 to $184,725 annually. While some reports state that they may earn more than the average amount. 

Is it hard to become a professor?

With the growing competition and the hard work that students put into fulfilling their career goals, it has become difficult to become a professor. You need to have at least a complete master’s degree. If you need to teach students at a four-year college or at higher educational levels, you need to complete your PhD. 

Ryan Harris
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